High prices: Afghan govt likely to ban wheat imports from Pakistan

Move could affect K-P as most flour mills there have already been shuttered

PESHAWAR: The Afghan government has hinted at banning the import of wheat flour from Pakistan because of its high cost and low quality.

The move is likely to cause hardships for mill owners as unconfirmed data reveals 800 flour mills, mostly in K-P, have already shut down due to one reason or the other.

The reports collected from transporters and traders in Peshawar show that due to high prices of Pakistani wheat flour the Afghan government is now importing a maximum quantity of wheat flour from Tajikistan. According to the report, there was also information on new deals regarding wheat flour import in Afghanistan from India via Iran.

However, the Afghan government’s move is likely to trigger a negative impact on farmers as well as mill owners in Pakistan as around a million tonne of wheat is exported to Afghanistan from Pakistan.

Case of taxes

The officials in the food department believe a maximum quantity of wheat flour was being exported to Afghanistan for the last four decades. In this regard, the K-P government had announced relief in taxes.



Earlier, wheat flour was supplied to Afghanistan via different tribal agencies through special permits issued by the respective political administrations, but the supply through permits was banned because they were being misused by some importers.

However, the Punjab government is still giving a rebate of Rs900 on every 100 kilogrammes of wheat flour. Now traders and mill owners were exporting wheat flour to Afghanistan on rebate.

According to Wheat Flours Dealers Association President Haji Rambail Khan the price of a sack of 100 kilogrammes of wheat flour is Rs3,250 in local market.

Moreover, the Afghan government was also charging tax of Rs140,000 on a truck that carries 950 sacks.

Earlier called Elm-e-Khabar, this tax was nominal, but now it was increased, which was affecting customers there in Afghanistan.

The cancellation of permit plus the tax that is imposed once the truck reaches Afghanistan has led to an increase in price of the commodity in Afghanistan. Therefore, the Afghanistan government has preferred to import wheat flour from Tajikistan. However, Rambail said, if taxes are withdrawn wheat flour price in Pakistan and Afghanistan could be reduced.

A wheat flour trader in Peshawar, Haji Niaz, told The Express Tribune, a majority of Afghans like red wheat flour, therefore, it could be hard for the Afghan government to prevent people there from using wheat flour imported from Pakistan. He, however, said the Afghan government’s decision of banning wheat import from Pakistan could be very harmful. A large number of flour mills — on both side of GT Road right from Lahore till Peshawar — depend on imports to Afghanistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2016.